In his first appearance before the 118th Congress, Attorney General Merrick Garland will face questions Wednesday from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee related to the FBI memo that allegedly targeted “radical traditionalist” Catholic ideology and agency practice. prosecutions of pro-life activists under the FACE Act. , according to Senate advisers.
Republicans on the committee may also question Garland about new Justice Department prosecution policies that Republicans say are lenient, and a recent Bureau of Prisons policy on transgender inmates that allows men to be placed with female inmates. according to a committee aide.
Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers from both houses lobbied FBI Director Christopher Wray to respond to a leaked internal memo produced by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia field office on January 23, 2023, which “identifies ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics[s]’ as possible ‘racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists’”.
REPUBLICANS CALL FOR ‘FULL TRANSPARENCY’ AFTER FBI DIRECTOR SAYS COVID ‘MOST LIKELY’ ORIGINATED IN A CHINESE LAB
Following the leak of the memo, the FBI told Fox News Digital that “headquarters quickly began taking steps to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a database review of the document.”
Additionally, both the DOJ and the FBI have come under intense scrutiny in recent months from Republicans and conservative activists who say the agencies are not being treated fairly, as only two arrests have been made after dozens of arrests. pro-life pregnancy attacks. centers following the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Calf. By contrast, the Justice Department has prosecuted more than 30 pro-life protesters in the past year.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland. ((Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images))
FBI UNDER PRESSURE AS SENATE, HOUSE MEMBERS SEEK ANSWERS FOR ANTI-CATHOLIC ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ MEMO
Just last week, DOJ charged eight people under the Free Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, for an incident that took place outside an abortion clinic in Michigan in 2020, resulting in adds to DOJ’s growing list of abortion clinic prosecutions. protesters
While Garland has received multiple requests from Republicans on the committee to testify again on these and other matters, her last appearance before the committee was in 2021.
Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Tasos Katopodis/Pool via AP)
During that hearing, he fielded questions about his memo to Justice Department employees addressing a federal response to violence and intimidation of school board officials, even though the National Association of School Boards apologized for the letter. that inspired the memo.
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before Congress. (Greg Nash/Pool Photo via AP)
FBI DIRECTOR SAYS COVID PANDEMIC ‘MOST LIKELY’ ORIGINATED IN A CHINESE LAB
The committee’s then-ranking member, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the Justice Department memo had a “venomous and chilling effect” on the speech, as it specifically referred to opposition to law enforcement officials. the school board.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Garland defended the memo, stating that it was a response “to concerns about violence, threats of violence, and other criminal conduct.”
Ronn Blitzer and Kelly Laco of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.